Egypt-Based Pay Platform Taps Israeli Anti-Money Laundering Startup

An Israeli startup that uses AI to detect potential money laundering has been selected to be an anti-money laundering (AML) and screening partner for an African multi-nation payment platform based in Cairo. 

The Thetaray AI platform “intuits” whether the billions of dollars, euros and even shekels that are moved around the world every day are untouched by the money laundering carried out by drug cartels, terror groups and even human traffickers. 

And unlike other companies that will inadvertently flag innocuous transactions, Thetaray maintains that its SONAR platform almost always only singles out genuinely problematic requests.  

The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which was established in 2022, allows payment transactions across Africa.

“Enabling efficient and effective growth of cross-border payments is fundamental to Africa’s overall economic development but requires building a trusted AML regime to underpin it,” said Thetaray CEO Peter Reynolds. 

“We’re excited to partner with PAPSS and support its mission to build a modern and secure financial network across Africa. We know it is absolutely possible to make African cross-border payments faster, cheaper, more transparent and inclusive, while maintaining safety, security and trust,” he said. 

“As PAPSS rapidly scales to spur economic growth and prosperity across Africa, it is critical we ensure financial crimes are effectively managed and malicious persons can’t take advantage of legitimate transaction routes,” said CEO of PAPSS Mike Ogbalu. 

“ThetaRay’s AI-powered AML solution is uniquely suited for this challenge given its accuracy and efficiency to empower a high level of trust both of transactions and the people making them.”